The Answer is Blowin’ in the Wind: Using Windchill to Optimize Wind Turbines

We’re always excited to see a PTC customer doing exciting things. When we heard about ReliaWind and how they are using Windchill, we jumped at the chance to share a great example of how PTC products can help change the world.

In 2007, the European Union (EU) Council of Ministers set an ambitious goal: for “renewable energy [to] cover at least 20 percent of the EU’s energy demand by 2020.”

To make this goal a reality, the ministers convened a task force of 10 industry and academic leaders to optimize the use of wind turbines. Through this group, the ReliaWind consortium, the ministers hoped to improve the reliability of offshore and onshore wind farms.

What They Want to Acheive

ReliaWind turned to Windchill Quality Solutions (Optimization and Simulation, Prediction, and FMEA) to help them achieve the following objectives:

Improve mean time between failures 10 percent for onshore turbines and 20 percent for offshore turbines

Reduce mean time to repair 20 percent for onshore turbines and 50 percent for offshore turbines

Boost operational availability from 97-98 percent to 98-99 percent for onshore turbines and from 85-90 percent to 97-98 percent for offshore turbines

Reduce cost of energy to less than 0.04 Euros per kilowatt-hour

Why Windchill?

Choosing Windchill allowed ReliaWind to analyze the necessary data quickly and easily. The multiple Windchill Quality Solutions modules were able to operate simultaneously, saving time and streamlining analysis.

Windchill provided them with:

A central source of data which eliminated the need for redundant data entry

Efficiency through legacy information, which provided real-world results in its reliability prediction calculations to support developing new systems

An enhanced ability to quantify the probability and severity of system risks affected by part failure

Changing the World

Even if reliable energy sources aren’t your thing, Windchill Quality Solutions can still help you change the world. For more information, please visit PTC.com/products/windchill/quality.

About NxRev - NxRev is an engineering enablement company that specializes in sales, support, and consulting services for high-level engineering design firms. As the largest PTC partner on the west coast, we sell the entire suite of PTC software, as well as complementary solutions including FloEFD.